Microsoft touts rival LCD technology

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 23 Jul 2008 at 17:15

Microsoft research has developed a competing technology to LCD, which it claims will provide brighter, cheaper screens.

The technology, which it dubs telescopic pixels, employs "a pixel that uses a pair of mirrors to block or transmit light."

According to Microsoft, this allows the pixels to switch completely off and on within 1.5 milliseconds, as opposed to the 25 to 45 milliseconds it takes for an average LCD to switch between black and white.

The company claims this would bring an end to the blurring effect that occurs on LCD monitors when displaying fast moving images.

Microsoft also claims the pixels will be significantly brighter than in LCD, meaning monitors wouldn't require as strong a backlight, reducing power consumption and potentially making them usable in direct sunlight.

The company is also touting the simplicity of its competitor, arguing that because telescopic pixels switch so quickly manufacturers could embed "red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes behind each pixel and have them sequentially light up to create a color shade", as opposed to LCDs, in which the red, green and blue subpixels each require their own transistor circuits.

The simplicity of telescopic pixels could significantly reduce manufacturing costs, according to the company.